Crypto Leaders Call Out White House For Claiming ‘Chokepoint 2.0’ Isn’t Real

Several crypto industry figureheads met with White House officials on Thursday morning to attempt to mend relations between the emerging fintech sector and the U.S. Democratic Party, according to FOX Business.

The meeting reportedly grew tense when the government denied the industry’s claims that there was a coordinated effort to cut off crypto firms from the banking system – a conspiracy widely referred to as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”

Crypto’s Banking Troubles

In response, one of the crypto executives in attendance asked for a show of hands for whose crypto companies had been denied banking access due to White House policies. Almost all industry members raised their hands – a group including Mark Cuban, Anthony Scaramucci, alongside representatives from Coinbase, Kraken, Uniswap, and other firms.

“Executives didn’t hold back on telling the administration reps how much damage they’ve done to the crypto industry and to the Democrat Party with their actions against digital assets,” said one attendee, according to FOX. “They basically just got yelled at.”

Crypto’s banking troubles date back years now, beginning in earnest after the collapse of FTX, which kicked regulatory clampdowns against blockchain firms into high gear.

Will Democrats Come Around On Crypto?

Despite the tensions at Thursday’s meeting, some crypto moguls are optimistic in seeing the Harris administration at least try to productively engage with them.

“My colleagues in the crypto space understandably want action now, but that’s not how things work in Washington,” said Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital. “ I think we’re making steady progress.”

Coinbase CLO also came away with hope, calling Kamala Harris the “perfect candidate to be a strong new face for crypto and make a break with the past.”

“The Fed confirmed that Operation Choke Point 2.0 remains in full swing, provided valuable insight into how it works, and verified that the Harris crypto “reset” is a scam,” said Winklevoss.